Hernandez last hurdle to Pan Am Games title for world number one Gellenthien

Gellenthien has won all three of their previous meetings at the international level.

The USA’s Braden Gellenthien and Roberto Hernandez of El Salvador have made it to the final of the compound men’s competition at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games. They will shoot for an historic first title at the continental multisport event tomorrow in the Peruvian capital.

“I’m feeling really strong, my technique is on point and looking forward to the final match,” said Braden, who beat Colombia’s Daniel Munoz by three, 147-144, in the semis.

“I was expecting a tight match; I was expecting good scores and any time you get into the final four you are expecting a good match. I think we both had some shots that we would have like to have back but as it stands, I’m really happy with the result and I’m just gonna look forward to the next one.”

The world number one and top seed in Lima shot 149 in his first match to defeat Guatemalan archer Jose Marcelo del Cid.

Ten men are competing at this debut Pan American Games for the compound bow. Braden likened the exclusive line-up to the Hyundai Archery World Cup Final – which will also be his next major tournament, at the start of September, after Lima concludes.

Gellenthien has beaten his gold medal match opponent, Hernandez, three times in three international meetings. The first was in 2010 and the most recent earlier this year at the Hyundai Archery World Cup stage in Shanghai.

Roberto upset second seed Rodolfo Gonzalez of Mexico by the tiniest margin, 146-145, in a back-and-forth semifinal match. He was emotional afterwards.

“I’m happy. I promised a medal but with the people competing here it was getting difficult. I also didn’t want to shoot against Daniel for bronze; he’s my best friend, so I put in my mental work and it worked out,” said Roberto.

“I read an interview from Braden where he said he knew the final could be against me. Here, he told me that if he beat me in qualification, he knew he would win it. We knew we were going to face each other, and I will enjoy the match.”